TEACHING ADULTS WITH SEVERE AND PROFOUND RETARDATION TO EXIT THEIR HOMES UPON HEARING THE FIRE ALARM

Prompting, modeling, and differential reinforcement with client-chosen rewards were used to teach 3 nonverbal people with severe to profound mental retardation to exit their group homes at the sound of the house fire alarm, using a multiple baseline design. All 3 participants learned to exit independently in less than 2 min in all experimenter-initiated surprise fire drills and in the majority of staff-initiated surprise fire drills. Each participant was also able to exit from five areas of the house from which teaching was not done.     

ASSESSING FOOD PREFERENCES AMONG PERSONS WITH PROFOUND MENTAL RETARDATION: PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE CHOICES

Increased attention has been directed recently to assisting persons with severe handicaps to express preferences concerning events in their lives. We evaluated a program for assessing choice-making skills to provide opportunities for persons with profound mental retardation to express food and drink preferences. In Experiment 1, the assessment procedure involving repeated, paired-item presentations resulted in active choice making and the identification of preferences for all 5 participants. Results also indicated that caregiver opinion was not predictive of participant food and drink preferences. A survey of service providers supported the importance of meal-related choices in this population. In Experiment 2, the practicality of the assessment procedure was supported by demonstrating that (a) routine caregivers could apply the procedure with appropriate supervision to provide choice opportunities, and (b) results of the procedure were predictive of participant choices when a less structured and more normal opportunity to express a preference was provided during regular mealtimes. Results are discussed in terms of extending the developing technology of preference and reinforcer identification to other important areas for persons with severe disabilities.     

EFFECTS OF COMMUNITY-BASED,VIDEOTAPE, AND FLASH CARD INSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY-REFERENCED SIGHT WORDS ON STUDENTS WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

Community-referenced sight words and phrases were taught to adolescents with mild and moderate mental retardation using three instructional methods in two locations. Words were presented on flash cards in a school setting, on videotape recordings in a school setting, and on naturally occurring signs in the community. During each session, participants were taught one third of the words in each of these conditions and were then tested at the community sites. A constant prompt delay procedure was used to promote stimulus control to the experimenter's cue initially and then to transfer control to the textual stimuli used for training. A multiple baseline across participants design was employed. Results showed rapid acquisition of the community-referenced sight words in all three training conditions and generalization from the flash card and videotape conditions to the community sites.     

TEACHING CHILD-CARE SKILLS TO MOTHERS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

The present study identified and remediated child-care skill deficits in parents with developmental disabilities to reduce their risk of child neglect. Eleven mothers with developmental disabilities who were considered by social service and child welfare agencies to be providing neglectful child care were found in baseline to have several important child-care skill deficits (e.g., bathing, diaper rash treatment, cleaning baby bottles) compared to nonhandicapped mothers. Parent training (consisting of verbal instructions, pictorial manuals, modeling, feedback, and reinforcement) resulted in rapid acquisition and maintenance of child-care skills in all mothers. Mean percentage correct scores increased from 58% in baseline to 90% in training and 91% in follow-up (M = 31 weeks). The latter two scores compare favorably to the mean score (87%) of 20 nonhandicapped mothers on the same skills. Where observable, parent training was associated with corresponding benefits to the children (e.g., elimination of diaper rash and cradle cap, increased weight gain, successful toilet training). These results indicate that parent training may be a viable option to the removal of the child from the home when parenting skill deficits place the child's well-being in jeopardy.     

弱智儿童心理旋转的研究

该研究探讨了一组9~12岁弱智儿童的“心理旋转”能力,该组儿童平均年龄10.1岁,平均智商（IQ）53.8（中度智力残疾）。研究结果与正常儿童（均龄8岁）作了比较。结果显示,弱智儿童的心理旋转能力明显较之正常儿童为差,智力缺陷对视觉图形空间定向能力（心理旋转）有着明显的影响。但无论弱智儿童或是正常儿童的结果均未发现性别差异。     

EFFECTS OF VIDEO-ASSISTED TRAINING ON EMPLOYMENT-RELATED SOCIAL SKILLS OF ADULTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION

Two studies investigated effects of video-assisted training on employment-related social skills of adults with severe mental retardation. In video-assisted training, participants discriminated a model's behavior on videotape and received feedback from the trainer for responses to questions about video scenes. In the first study, 3 adults in an employment program participated in video-assisted training to request their supervisor's assistance when encountering work problems. Results indicated that participants discriminated the target behavior on video but effects did not generalize to the work setting for 2 participants until they rehearsed the behavior. In the second study, 2 participants were taught to fix and report four work problems using video-assisted procedures. Results indicated that after participants rehearsed how to fix and report one or two work problems, they began to fix and report the remaining problems with video-assisted training alone.     

TEACHING SUPPORTED EMPLOYEES WITH SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION TO SOLVE PROBLEMS

Two individuals with severe mental retardation, employed by a janitorial supply company, were taught to use self-instruction in combination with multiple exemplar training to solve work-related problems. Use of the combined strategy resulted in generalization of the effects of independent variables, as well as generalization to nontrained problems. Use of the strategy is discussed in terms of promoting independent performance among supported employees.     

A PERSONALIZED SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION FOR TEACHING CHECKING ACCOUNT SKILLS TO ADULTS WITH MILD DISABILITIES

This study evaluated the efficacy of a personalized system of instruction to teach checking account skills to persons with mild disabilities. Using a self-paced manual, 8 participants in two groups were taught to write checks, complete deposit slips, and reconcile monthly bank statements. Four participants were assessed for generalization from the classroom to community sites and demonstrated nearly perfect performance. A multiple probe design showed that acquisition occurred sequentially for each skill only after training using the self-paced manual. Follow-up sessions demonstrated that participants maintained the checking account skills. The results provide evidence of the effectiveness and adaptability of a personalized system of instruction for teaching complex monetary skills to persons with mild disabilities.     

汉语习语理解研究

研究宗旨是探讨中国成人对汉语中三字习语的加工处理问题。研究材料包括：（１）动宾结构的惯用语,既有比喻意义又有字面意义;（２）动宾结构的一般三字词组;（３）偏正结构的三字惯用语,既有比喻意义又有字面意义;（４）偏正结构的一般三字词组;（５）动宾结构的惯用语。只有比喻意义而无字面意义;（６）三字词。它们都是被试所熟悉的。向３５名成人呈现这些词语和（７）无意义三字组合,要求他们作意义判别。结果表明,所有惯用语的判断反应均无显著性差异,各组惯用语的判断反应时均慢于单词,而快于一般词组。实验结果基本支持两种意义同时加工,但比喻意义优先完成的假设。此外,文章还讨论了习语的词汇化等问题。     

ASSESSMENT OF STIMULI CONTROLLING THE REQUESTS OF STUDENTS WITH SEVERE MENTAL RETARDATION DURING A SNACK ROUTINE

This study assessed stimuli controlling requests during a snack routine after extensive request training with a delayed prompt procedure. During training sessions, one of three three-item snack groups was presented to 3 subjects with severe mental retardation. Assessment sessions involved (a) training conditions (all items were visible), (b) presenting two of three items from a particular group, or (c) presenting no items. One subject requested food items when no food items were present, 2 frequently requested a missing item when the two other items were visible, and all subjects requested visible items. Procedures for assessing stimulus control, such as those described in the current paper, should lead to a better understanding of the variables controlling behaviors that initially appear perplexing and unpredictable.     

PROMPTING AND STIMULUS SHAPING PROCEDURES FOR TEACHING VISUAL-MOTOR SKILLS TO RETARDED CHILDREN

Stimulus shaping appears to be a highly successful way to teach discrimination skills. In stimulus shaping, the topographical configuration of the stimuli is gradually changed over trials so that discrimination is at first easy, and then gradually more difficult. Stimulus shaping procedures might also be effective for training visual-motor tasks. Two experiments were conducted to assess the relative effectiveness of stimulus shaping and “traditional” prompting procedures. Pegboard skills were trained in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2 a self-care skill was trained, in which children learned to hang a toothbrush or a washcloth on a specific hook. Six low-functioning retarded children were studied in each experiment, using a within-subject alternating treatments design. Each participant received concurrent training on two related tasks, using stimulus shaping for one and a standard prompting procedure for the other. Training with the stimulus shaping procedure required less training time to criterion, always resulted in fewer errors, always required fewer and less intrusive therapist's prompts, and always resulted in greater density of reinforcement. These results demonstrate the value of stimulus shaping strategies for training visual-motor skills.     

INCREASING SELF-DETERMINATION: TEACHING PEOPLE WITH MENTAL RETARDATION TO EVALUATE RESIDENTIAL OPTIONS

The community living preferences of 4 institutionalized adults with mild mental retardation were identified using photographs that depicted a variety of residential characteristics. Individuals then were taught to obtain information regarding their preferences during tours of community group homes, to report that information to their social worker, and to evaluate the homes based on the information obtained. A multiple baseline across participants design showed that all 4 participants substantially increased their skills at asking questions, reporting information, and evaluating homes. The results indicate that people with mental retardation can take an active role in major lifestyle decisions that others have typically made for them.     

弱智儿童视觉-动作控制的实验研究

该研究探讨了弱智儿童视觉-动作控制能力。弱智儿童被试30人,平均年龄13.5岁,平均智商53.9。实验结果与正常人的结果作了比较。结果显示,弱智儿童的视觉-动作控制能力只相当五六岁正常儿童的水平,远落后于正常中青年及老年的水平。这表明,智力缺陷与发展水平对人的视觉-动作控制能力有明显影响。     

BUILDING RESPONSE CLASSES: A COMPARISON OF TWO PROCEDURES FOR TEACHING GENERALIZED POURING TO LEARNERS WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES

Five individuals with profound mental retardation received instruction on liquid pouring. The effects of two training strategies on performance with nontrained pitchers and receptacles were compared within a split multiple baseline design across subjects. One training approach followed general case instruction guidelines in which both difficult and easy teaching examples were selected that sampled the range of relevant stimulus and response variation. The second training approach approximated the early steps in an easy-to-hard sequencing strategy and involved using only a set of easy teaching examples that did not sample the full range of relevant stimulus and response variation required for successful pouring in natural settings. Results indicated that only after training with the full set of general case examples did the learners become competent with the nontrained generalization probe tasks. In addition, the set of easy examples resulted in learners performing topographically predictable errors with the generalization probe tasks.     

AN ALTERNATING TREATMENTS COMPARISON OF ORAL AND TOTAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING WITH MINIMALLY VERBAL RETARDED CHILDREN

This study was a comparison of the effects of oral speech with total communication (speech plus sign language) training on the ability of mentally retarded children to repeat 4-word sentences. Three children were chosen who used single words to communicate but who did not combine words into complete sentences. Three sentence pairs were trained, with each pair having one sentence trained using oral methods and an equivalent one trained using the total communication approach. Both training procedures involved chaining sentence parts, reinforcement, and prompting. Oral methods involved presenting vocal stimuli and requiring vocal responses whereas total communication methods involved presenting vocal and signed stimuli and requiring vocal and signed responses. For the initial sentence pair with each child, an alternating treatments design was used to determine the relative efficacy of the two language training approaches. This was repeated with a second and third sentence pair using a multiprobe technique within a multiple baseline design. Results pointed to the superiority of the total communication approach in facilitating sentence repetition. Possible explanations of these results are offered and the utility of the alternating treatments experimental design is discussed.     

CO-WORKER IMPLEMENTED JOB TRAINING: THE USE OF COINCIDENTAL TRAINING AND QUALITY-CONTROL CHECKING ON THE FOOD PREPARATION SKILLS OF TRAINEES WITH MENTAL RETARDATION

In two studies, co-workers of persons with disabilities were taught to use coincidental training procedures while completing their own jobs. In Study 1, the effects of coincidental training on the salad-making skills of 3 trainees with mild and moderate mental retardation were evaluated. Coincidental training by co-workers resulted in improved accuracy of the salad-making skills of the trainees. In Study 2, trainees were also coincidentally taught to make quality-control checks of their salads. An alternating treatments and multiple baseline design indicated that the trainees more readily acquired the skills when taught to check the correctness of their work.     

DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT OF CORRECT RESPONSES TO PROBES AND PROMPTS IN PICTURE-NAME TRAINING WITH SEVERELY RETARDED CHILDREN

A systematic sequence of prompt and probe trials was used to teach picture names to three severely retarded children. On prompt trials the experimenter presented a picture and said the picture name for the child to imitate; on probe trials the experimenter did not name the picture. A procedure whereby correct responses to prompts and probes were nondifferentially reinforced was compared with procedures whereby correct responses to prompts and probes were differentially reinforced according to separate and independent schedules of primary reinforcement. In Phase 1, correct responses to prompts and probes were reinforced nondifferentially on a fixed ratio (FR) 6 or 8 schedule; in Phase 2, correct responses to prompts were reinforced on the FR schedule and correct responses to probes were reinforced on an FR schedule of the same value; in Phase 3, correct responses to prompts were reinforced on the FR schedule and correct responses to probes were reinforced on a continuous reinforcement (CRF; every correct response reinforced) schedule; in Phase 4, correct responses to prompts were reinforced on a CRF schedule and correct responses to probes were reinforced on the FR schedule; in Phase 5, a reversal to the conditions of Phase 3 was conducted. For all three children, the FR schedule for correct responses to prompts combined with the CRF schedule for correct responses to probes (Phases 3 and 5) generated the highest number of correct responses to probes, the highest accuracy (correct responses relative to correct responses plus errors) on probe trials, and the highest rate of learning to name pictures.     

TEACHING SELF-ADMINISTRATION OF SUCTIONING TO CHILDREN WITH TRACHEOSTOMIES

We examined the effectiveness of using dolls to teach young children with tracheostomies to self-administer a suctioning procedure. Four children between the ages of 5 and 8 years, who had had tracheostomies for 6 months or longer, participated. After skills were taught via doll-centered simulations, in vivo skills were evaluated. All of the training and probe sessions were conducted in the participants' classrooms or homes. Results of a multiple baseline design across subjects and skill components indicated that the performance of all children improved as a function of training. Skill maintenance was demonstrated by all participants during follow-up assessments conducted 2 to 6 weeks posttraining. Results of a questionnaire completed by caregivers and interviews with the children revealed high levels of satisfaction with the training procedures and outcomes.     

TEACHING GENERALIZED RECEPTIVE AND PRODUCTIVE BEHIND-FRONT DISCRIMINATIONS TO TWO RETARDED CHILDREN1

Typically, a generalized discrimination for two linguistic forms (e.g., “behind the (noun)” and “in front of the (noun)”) has been developed in a sequence of three treatment conditions, with generative usage developed for each form consecutively in the first two conditions and a generalized discrimination developed for those forms in the third condition. Moreover, generalized discriminations have typically been measured by a set of unreinforced probes, rather than by first-trial performances across a series of new tasks, as in some studies that have taught generative usage of a single form of language. In this study, successive sets of instructions were presented to two children. Each set contained four tasks, the four possible combinations of two new nouns with the linguistic forms “Put the (noun) behind the (noun)” and “Put the (noun) in front of the (noun)”. For each set, receptive usage of nouns was taught, and then the four instructions were presented, once each, to test for generative usage of the prepositional forms. First-trial performances were never prompted. After a baseline of five sets of tasks, correct first-trial performances earned praise and tokens. Also, in each set with three or fewer such performances, the specific receptive discriminations were taught to a criterion before presentation of the next set. Successive sets were presented until all first-trial performances were correct in five consecutive sets, whereupon this generalized discrimination was reversed and subsequently reinstated. Similar procedures were then used to teach the same children a generalized productive-discrimination for the forms “behind the (noun)” and “in front of the (noun)”. This study demonstrated the development of generalized receptive and productive behind-front discriminations without the prior development of generative usage in each linguistic form and with measurement of the generalized discrimination across first-trial performances. The method may offer a less time-consuming procedure for the development and measurement of generalized discriminations in receptive and productive language.     

GENERALIZATION OF NAMING RESPONSES TO OBJECTS IN THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AS A FUNCTION OF TRAINING STIMULUS MODALITY WITH RETARDED CHILDREN

Picture-cards, photographs, and real objects were compared as training stimuli in order to determine which best facilitated the generalization of naming responses learned in a special training room to real objects in the natural environments of four retarded children. The amount of transfer of naming behavior between the three stimulus modes and the average amount of training time required per stimulus mode were also assessed. Three of the four children displayed considerably more generalization to the real objects in the natural environment when they were trained with real objects. The fourth child displayed substantial generalization regardless of the training stimulus mode. No particular training stimulus mode clearly facilitated the transfer of naming responses to other modes or greatly reduced training time. The results of two supplementary procedures conducted with one child showed that: (1) training in several environments facilitated generalization to real objects in the natural environment when real objects were used as training stimuli but not when picture-cards were used, and (2) transfer from picture-cards to real objects was facilitated by training other picture-cards and the real objects portrayed by them at the same time.